Secret Issues
by FanFicFan909
Summary: What happens when Piper's father comes to visit? The team is in for a big surprise and hidden secrets.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, it has been a while but school is about to kick off again and I really can't see myself frequently adding more stories this year. It is going to be a busy one!**

**This is a bit of an AH story but there still is many references to the show. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Storm Hawks, no matter how much I want to. **

"Finn, on your right. Piper, aim for the big ship. Junko, a little help over here." Aerrow instructed to his team as they were ambushed in a blur of red and black Cyclonians. The attack had been a surprise, but the Storm Hawks were always prepared for anything. The team went quick into action and were already easily defeating the Talons.

With one last ship standing in their way, Aerrow thought it was time to unleash their biggest weapon.

"Piper, I think we should finish them off with some binding!" he yelled over to her Heli-Scooter. The crystal mage drove forward and met up with his Skimmer, giving him a sly grin which he returned. Pulling out a small array of colourful crystals, Piper began to concentrate on their energy, slowly letting herself absorb it. With perfect attunement achieved, Aerrow could feel the energy surging through his body as he prepared for his attack. He thrust both his hands forward and opened his eyes. A wave of blue mist travelled forward, knocking any and all Talons that remained on their rides and, once it reached the large ship, the power affected its circuitry, causing it to dive down into the Wastelands.

The team all cheered as they watched their latest victory fall from the sky.

"Great job, guys." Aerrow congratulated as he looked around at all their smiling faces.

"Dude, you totally rocked when you smashed the front of that Talon's Skimmer off." The blonde sharpshooter praised to Junko. "Did you see the look on his face?" Finn contorted his face in a humorous attempt to recreate the image.

The rhino-human hybrid gave out a throaty chuckle. "Yeah, he was so scared." The two best friends shared a good laugh as Piper and Aerrow drove up to them.

"Great job, Aerrow." Piper congratulated the leader as she smiled warmly. Aerrow could feel a warm sense of gratitude fill inside him as the words left her lips. It seemed much more rewarding when it came from her.

"We better head back. "Aerrow announced confidently. "Or Stork might think something is wrong."

"He's probably started selling our stuff already." Finn smirked as he rested his head in his left hand. The team began racing back to the big aircraft they called home. It was floating behind a large terra big enough to shield it from any damage if the Talons decided to attack the ship. When approaching the hanger bay, the large door that would normally open when sensing an approaching ride, unexpectedly stayed locked. The group all exchanged confused looks.

"Someone radio in Stork." Aerrow commanded. Finn grabbed his radio and messaged into the _Condor_.

"Stork, buddy? Hey can you open the door please?"

The sound of static and white noise was their only reply.

Junko raced forward to the door and started pounding a giant fist against the hard metal. Piper rode her scooter to the front windows of the _Condor_, cupped part of her face to see inside, but only saw darkness.

"Junko, do you think you can open the door from the outside? Maybe there is a toolbox or some wires that activate it on the exterior?" Aerrow questioned the mechanic. The wallop ceased his attack to think.

"Nope, I don't think I kept a spare toolbox outside." Junko explained thoughtfully, only resulting in a slightly frustrated Sky Knight slumping back into his ride. Without warning, Finn's radio sparked to life, and the paranoid merb's voice was heard on the other end.

"Um...I can't get the door to work." Stork muttered through the radio. Everyone sighed in relief, thankful that it wasn't something serious. "Sorry guys, but I was testing the new security system and now the door won't budge." Junko chuckled and spoke through his own radio.

"Try lubricating the chains found in the fuse box on the right side of the wall." Junko guided Stork.

"If that was the initial way to fix the door, don't you think I would've tried it already?" Stork screamed through the radio.

"Have you?" questioned the blonde. A moment's silence went by, until the door jerked and rattled open.

"Ok." Stork said nonchalantly through the radio. "Now the door works." The team suppressed a chuckle as they descended into the hanger bay. No sooner had they parked their rides in the inlet, than they heard the sound of another sky ride approaching them. The team turned, all still seated on their rides to see a man on a ride that closely resembled Carver's Air Skimmer III Ultra. A well built, tanned man with short, dark hair, greying at the sides as he aged, and glowing brown eyes entered the _Condor's_ hanger. Apparently he didn't see where he was going because he drove straight into Aerrow's ride. Aerrow strategically leapt off his skimmer and watched as the man stopped his ride too late and casually got off.

"I will fix that." The man spoke in a deep voice. He was wearing cargo shorts and a blue sweater and removed his khaki hat when he spoke to the Storm Hawks. Frankly, to Aerrow, he looked suspicious.

"Who are you?" Aerrow rose, furious that someone had damaged his ride. The Sky Knight was ready to pull out his weapon when the quiet Piper stood between the two, eyes wide at the strange man.

"Dad?" Piper whispered. The whole team gasped unnoticeably and Aerrow's eyes widened as he lowered his hand from his blade handle.

"This is your dad?" Finn blurted out, breaking the stunned silence. Piper turned to face her team, a small smile noticeable on her face.

"Yeah. We got in touch a few months back and we've been talking ever since." Piper turned and smiled at her father and he returned it warmly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Aerrow questioned the navigator.

"I ...don't know." Piper eyed the floor. "I guess it never crossed my mind. I thought we were going to meet on Terra Atmosia, dad."

"I couldn't stay away from my baby girl any longer." Piper's father said, scooping her up in to a hug.

"Aw, thanks dad." Piper exclaimed.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your crew?" The tall man questioned as he placed the mage down on the ground and straightened up, looking at all the team members with a huge grin.

"Sure," Piper started excitedly. "Everyone, I would like you to meet Jet Ames Cuddering III."

"That's _Sir_ Jet Ames Cuddering III to you all." Jet grabbed Aerrow's hand and shook it with such strength that Aerrow had to cradle his hand once it returned from the tight grip.

"That's Stork." Piper pointed to the green merb who had just entered the hanger to see what was going on.

"The moment I install the new security system, we have an intruder. Make a note people, we're doomed no matter what we do." Stork informed the crew as he stalked off back to the controls. Piper's father gave his daughter a befuddled look.

"He is the helmsman. He's also a little bit ...what's the word?" Piper tapped a finger to her chin.

"Crazy?" Junko suggested.

"Insane?" Finn chimed in.

"Squawk." Radarr chirped as though to say _nuts._

"Pessimistic. Yes, pessimistic." Piper smiled contently as she found the word. "Ah...that's Junko. He is our mechanic and strongman."

"Good to meet you, lad." Jet slammed his hand on Junko's back as a friendly greeting, and even made Junko wheeze and lean forward as most of the air flew out of his lungs. Aerrow winced at his friend's pain, but due to Junko's strength, he quickly recovered and gave Jet a slam on his back, except his had no effect on the man.

Piper let out a small giggle. "Um...that's Finn. He is the sharpshooter or marksman." Finn held up his hands as pistols in his signature move and said his signature catchphrase.

"Chicka-cha."

"Ah Finn," Jet walked over and looked down at the blonde, who began cowering behind his own hands. "I understand that you have not made my daughter's life easy." Everyone except Jet glanced over at Piper, who was rubbing the back of her neck and looking all around the room, a small smile on her face. Finn scowled at her but then remembered that he was still under the watchful eye of the girl's very intimidating father.

"It's...It's not what it sounds like." Finn continued to cower.

"He's right, dad." Piper interrupted. "Finn has been...better behaved lately."

"Very well, but if you go back to annoying my daughter." Jet slammed his fist into his hand. "You're going to have hell to pay." Finn nodded his head slowly and in an instant, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fainted.

"Great." Piper mumbled. "Now I'm going to have to fix him. Oh, and before I forget. This is Aerrow, our Sky Knight and sitting near his foot is Radarr, his trusty co-pilot."

"Aerrow," Jet placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder and looked at him with mischievous eyes. Aerrow only returned a nervous smile. "I hope you have been taking care of my daughter, haven't you." He slammed his hand onto Aerrow's shoulder, which made the latter's body jolt under the strength.

"Of course," Aerrow straightened up and tried to sound confident. "I take care of my whole team. That's the job of a Sky Knight."

"Well, you have to take more care of Piper than the rest of the team. She is your girlfriend after all."

Junko's jaw dropped and Finn lifted his head off the floor.

"What?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Back for one last update before I start my last year of school. Also, it is 1 am and I can't get to sleep anyway. **

**Thank you all for leaving your kind reviews and for adding this story on to 'Story Alert'. Hope you enjoy the new chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Storm Hawks, but I do own this story. **

**Previously...**

"_Well, you have to take more care of Piper than the rest of the team. She is your girlfriend after all."_

_Junko's jaw dropped and Finn lifted his head off the floor. _

"_What?"_

Finn and Junko chimed in unision. Aerrow could only stare straight forward, eyes grown to their fullest and lips smacked shut. For a minute, everyone was silent. No one knew what to say. Aerrow was completely speechless.

_Girlfriend? GIRLFRIEND?_

What did that mean when it came from Jet? Yes, Piper was a girl who was his friend, but did Jet mean it in that way or did he mean it as though they had been seeing each other for a while, going on picnics on nearby deserted Terras, sitting together on home movie night and sharing the popcorn, holding each other's hands all the time and never leaving each other's side because it would feel like losing oxygen- Aerrow ceased his train of thought. Of course he meant girlfriend. But when on Atmos has that ever been mentioned on board. There had been some sny comments from Finn when the gang were around eleven years old, but Aerrow had merely shrugged it off. However, that small feeling that was felt when Finn mentioned it had stayed with him for the past 6 years. Did Piper feel the same? Why did she tell her father that they were going out? All these questions that were swimming around in Aerrow's mind could've been answered if he just snapped back into reality, where a bulgy tanned hand was waving itself in front of his dazed face.

"You alright there, lad?" Jet asked the leader. Aerrow blinked once and turned to the man who was addressing him, expression remaining unchanged. From behind Jet's looming shoulder, Piper poked her head up and looked Aerrow in the eyes. She appeared to be grasping her hands together and sucking air through her teeth in a pleading look, nodding her head and mouthing what appeared to be 'please, please'. Aerrow's gaze returned to Jet, who appeared to have a befuddled look on his face, and then wandered to a wall of the hanger, eyes still wide as ever like he was a Muppet and had the inability to blink his eyelids, or even have eyelids for that matter.

Slowly, his brain began to catch up with him as he shook his head, red hair flying everywhere and his green eyes met with Jet's once again, letting out a small breath of air he didn't realise he had been holding. Wearily, he pulled the corners of his mouth up and nodded nervously. He could instantly feel the beads of sweat run down his forehead as the older man eyed him suspiciously. Piper shuffled around her father and stood next to Aerrow.

"Haha, yeah dad. This is Aerrow." Piper pointed uneasily to the tensed-up Sky Knight. "My...long time boyfriend."

"Long-Oomph." Aerrow began but was interrupted by a subtle stab to the ribs by a delicate elbow. He just stared at Piper who was beaming up at her father. "Yeah. Long time boyfriend." Aerrow absentmindedly snaked his arm around Piper's waist, pressing his lips together in an attempt to ignore the fierce blush that decided to grow on his cheeks at that moment. Jet looked as though he was starting to accept the situation, when he noticed the four tips of Aerrow's glove-covered fingers on his daughter, and how low they were on her hip.

"Better watch your hands there, boy." Jet murmured in a tone that reminded Aerrow of Mr Moss, keeping his eye on Aerrow's left hand. As though she was made of fire, the Sky Knight retracted his hand and held it awkwardly at his side, not knowing what to do next. He, _courageously might I add_, draped his arm over her shoulders, and both Storm Hawks shared the same nervous smile to the big intimidating man standing in front of them. Unimpressed with someone using 'the move' on his Piper, Jet gave Aerrow a glare, joined with a raised eyebrow in his direction. Aerrow, sick of all the games he was playing with this guy, rolled his eyes and let his arm drag slowly off of Piper's shoulders, not leaving Jet's glare as he did, and down her right arm. He was enjoying the touch of her smooth skin, until he caught her hand in his, entwining his fingers with hers as he did so. Aerrow even lifted up their glued-together hands in front of Jet's face, giving him a subtle '_are you satisfied?_' look. Jet finally relaxed, the murderous glare from his eyes slowly fading and a huge smile spread on his face.

"Well, Piper." her father clasped his hands together. "When you told me Aerrow was very handsome, I thought you were kidding. But look at this strapping young lad." Aerrow looked as though he was about to spit out his last meal, which was 5 hours ago, when Jet slammed his hand into Aerrow's back.

"Daaaaad." Piper muttered through her teeth, part whining in that '_you're embarrassing me'_ tone, part _'please don't hit him like that again'_ tone.

"Ah don't be embarrassed P, it's a father's job to inspect the boyfriend, and intimidate them." Jet smirked down at Aerrow, the latter trying to force a huge dry lump down his throat.

"Would, um...you, err...excuse me and my...girlfriend for a minute." Aerrow stammered with less confidence than he desired. He turned and grabbed Piper's shoulders, pushing her forward and out of the room as he did so. Aerrow turned back when he reached the door, seeing Finn assisted up by Junko and Jet standing opposite them, crossing his arms as he stared at the nervous wreck that the Storm hawks called their Sky Knight.

"Please." Aerrow smiled cockily and gestured out his hand. "Make yourself at home." Within an instant, Aerrow had closed the door and footsteps running down the corridor could be heard from inside the hanger bay.

_Flashback_

"_Well, you have to take more care of Piper than the rest of the team. She is your girlfriend after all."_

_Junko's jaw dropped and Finn lifted his head off the floor. _

"_What?"_

Piper widened her eyes in shock and then stared at the back of her father who was currently standing between herself and Aerrow.

"_Oh cheese and biscuits. I completely forgot about that."_ Piper face-palmed and scolded herself for her bad memory. She knew she had forgotten something important.

This...was not the subtle way Piper had planned on dropping the news on to Aerrow. In fact, she was going to tell her father that they'd broken up over the radio, which would've been a full-proof plan if the two boys had never met. But now they were standing face to face, and the topic she wished would never have been brought up, had in fact been brought up. If she had broken up their imaginary relationship over the radio to her father, and Jet still showed up on the _Condor, _he would probably lecture Aerrow as to why they broke up, and the redhead certainly didn't have those answers, let alone an idea of what was going on. He would probably give Jet...well the same look he was giving him now.

Piper's brain was racing to come up with something to say, when she was distracted by the deep, bellowing voice that was her dad.

"You alright there, lad?" Piper poked her head up over her father's shoulder to look at Aerrow. He was just staring straight ahead while Jet waved a hand in front of the leader's face. His lack of responding sent a nervous shiver throughout Piper's body.

"_C'mon. Say something Aerrow,"_ the little voice inside her head screamed. Aerrow's gaze appeared to have fallen on Piper, giving her an empty stare. It was then and there that Piper decided he needed to play along with it, just for now. Piper clasped her hands together as though she was praying and put on a huge nervous grin, sucking air through her teeth as she did so. Her head jolted up and down rapidly and she mouthed the words _'please'_ over and over in the hopes that he would understand what she was saying. He was always the best at guessing Radarr's charades.

Piper obliviously gasped in shock as Aerrow dropped his head and shook it, meaning his good nature was not going to let him lie to his best friend's dad. Sometimes the qualities she loved about him became the most annoying in desperate times. She sighed in relief and smiled as Aerrow gave a nervous smile to the intimidating man, and decided it was time she stepped in and helped the poor guy before he ruined her plan as he usually did. She cautiously shuffled around her father and stood next to Aerrow.

"Haha, yeah dad. This is Aerrow." Piper laughed with more nervousness than she would have liked. She pointed a shaking finger to Aerrow. "My...long time boyfriend." The moment the words left her lips, Piper smiled a smile she knew her father would read as the truth. It was all going so well until Aerrow decided to chime in.

"Long-Oomph." Piper nudged her elbow into his ribs, internally apologising and wincing as Aerrow lost his air, but quickly regained herself and smiled Cheshire cat-style at her father, avoiding the glare she could feel from Aerrow.

"Yeah. Long time boyfriend." Well, as long as he was playing along. In fact, he was playing along too well when she felt his toned arm find itself a spot to sit on her small waist. Piper's eyes widened and her eyebrows were raised, the heat in her body surging up to her face for all to see. The crystal mage averted her eyes to avoid the gaze of either Aerrow or her father. She decided to return to their awkward conversation when her father spoke up.

"Better watch your hands there, boy." Piper could feel Aerrow's anxiety as he quickly withdrew his arm from her waist. What she wasn't expecting was his arm to return to her body, this time finding a friendlier place to sit than her waist, her shoulder. She smiled in an attempt to tell her father that it was ok. Unfortunately her father didn't prefer any of these gestures and continued to stare Aerrow down the way an Eagle would stare down its mouse prey. Piper tried to hide her blush further as Aerrow let his hand drag across her shoulders. The mage realised that the Sky Knight never took his gaze off of Jet, which is why his hand stayed connected to her as it followed her arm down to her hand, the hairs on her arms sticking up as he did so. She hoped he couldn't feel the goose bumps that had decided to join in on the festivities. Piper smiled contently as Aerrow closed his hand in hers and interlaced their fingers. She gave him an apologetic squeeze, and sighed within when he returned it. Her hand was lifted by Aerrow's and held in front of Jet's face on display, as though trying to prove that this gesture was both simple and romantic. The smile from Jet finally relaxed Piper, although his next sentence caught her a bit off guard.

"Well, Piper. When you told me Aerrow was very handsome, I thought you were kidding. But look at this strapping young lad." Ok, maybe a lot off guard. God this couldn't get any more embarrassing. Wait, yes it could. To top it off, her father decided to slap his meat-sized hand on to Aerrow's back, causing him to lean forward. It almost looked like he was going to throw up. Piper winced again at her friend's pain. She had put him through all of this and he was still taking all the physical punishment. A part of Piper wanted to jump in front of her father and explain to him that there was no relationship between them, but another part of her remembered that if she told him, she would be in a lot of trouble for lying in the first place. It was just safer to keep going with this.

"Daaaaad." Piper complained through gritted teeth when she realised that her father had told Aerrow that Piper thought he was handsome.

"Ah don't be embarrassed P, it's a father's job to inspect the boyfriend, and intimidate them." She only gave her father a deadpanned look coupled with a raised eyebrow. She was suddenly snapped out of her stare when she head Aerrow gulp noisily and then begin to speak.

"Would, um...you, err...excuse me and my...girlfriend for a minute." Those words sounded even sweeter to Piper as they left Aerrow's mouth. He called her his girlfriend. Of course they were only pretending but it still counts, right? You all heard it.

Piper turned on her heel as Aerrow basically pushed her towards the door. Once she was out, she began to walk down the hall, only enough out of earshot to hear Aerrow talking to the other Storm Hawks who had remained in the hanger and her father before he closed the door and came sprinting down. He raced past Piper and grabbed onto her arm, pulling her into the next secluded room they could find, the first aid room.

Aerrow closed the door and placed his back on it, eyes spread wide, not looking at anything in particular, and noticeably breathing heavily. He startled Piper when his face immediately shot across to her.

"Um...context?" Aerrow pleaded as he peeled himself off the door. Piper just shrugged casually.

"What's to tell? You did really well in there." She gave him a half hearted smile and patted him on the shoulder as she tried to walk out. Aerrow grabbed her hand and twirled her around.

"No, no, no. Not so fast. What...What the heck was going on in there?" Aerrow pointed in what would've been the hanger bay direction had no walls or doors been in their way.

"Isn't it obvious? You're my boyfriend. My father has come to visit. No doubt he will be staying with us so could you please leave the P.D.A's to a minimum while my dad is around." Piper explained to the now even more confused redhead.

"P.D.A's? Now you're just talking girl gibberish." Aerrow breathed out. He stopped gasping for air and he straightened himself up when he noticed Piper's unimpressed look.

"Ok, sorry. I just want to know why you father thinks I am your boyfriend." Aerrow sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, eying something on the floor that turned out to be pretty interesting. Piper sighed.

"Oh, alright. So I got in touch with my father a couple of months back. We had been talking about our lives and everything. His team of adventurers are about to go exploring the dense jungle on the other side of Terra Fauna. Cool, huh." The tactics office beamed at him. Aerrow gave her his unimpressed look.

"Piper, you're getting off topic." Piper huffed. She couldn't resist the concerned stare he was giving her.

"Well, he started to talk about my life, you know crystals and everything. By the way I am on the verge of discovering a new and rare crystal. It's a..."

"Piper!"

"Alright. When I started talking about the Storm Hawks, dad became a little bit worried. I guess that is why he came over here in the first place. He said the job was too dangerous and that I should have someone to protect me. He kept talking about settling down and buying a home on Terra Atmosia that didn't fly or doing a job that had more of a chance of me returning home at night. He even talked about kids. Kids, Aerrow! I am 17 for God's sake. So I decided to give him the next best thing that would put his mind at ease. I told him I had a boyfriend." Piper looked into Aerrow's eyes, concern spread throughout those green orbs as he prepared himself for his next question.

"But why me?" He felt is heart leap into his throat as he waited in anticipation for her answer.

"Well, truthfully. Stork probably wouldn't let me go near him without spraying me with all these chemicals. Junko giving me constant hugs all the time would more than likely crush my bones. Radarr is an animal and frankly, so is Finn." Her last comment earned her a small chuckle of amusement from the Sky Knight, which she gratefully smiled at. "I am so sorry I dragged you into all of this but you were the only one who was normal enough to cast in the role as a suitable boyfriend. Thank you so much for...taking that hit for the team." Piper cringed as Aerrow rubbed the part of his back where Jet had hit him.

"Yeah," Aerrow rolled his eyes playfully. "So, are you ever going to tell him?" His questioning eyes searched hers for an answer.

"Not to his face. He will be so devastated. It actually looked like he approved of you in there." Piper gave a _'who-would've-thought'_ grin to her leader.

"Oh really." Aerrow said, feigning being scared. "Because it looked like he was ready to eat me."

Piper only chuckled. "Well, you did put your hand around his baby girl's waist." she smugly replied, but the room felt silent when Piper realised what she had said.

"Oh, I-"

"Yeah, the-"

"Because of-"

"But you-"

"Sorry I-"

"No, no-"

Both teammates sighed at their uncomfortable conversation.

"I thought I had to prove it somehow." Aerrow explained, the blush conveniently deciding to show its red colour.

"Yeah and you did it well, with the...you know...whole hands...thing." Piper stammered.

"Ok. So if you're not going to tell him. We need to play along with this until he leaves." Aerrow took control as he usually would. Piper nodded in agreement as though they were discussing how they were going to play in the next rugby match.

"Your dad thinks we have been going out for...months." thought Aerrow.

"One year, 3 months and 8 days. Remember that." Piper interrupted, receiving a vacant stare from Aerrow.

"Ooook, uh...the rest of the team can't know we're faking. Junko would blurt it out eventually and Finn would use it for blackmail."

"Who's not to say he is planning that right now?" Piper replied, causing both of them to exchange worried glances. "Ok we will just tell them that we have been trying to hide our relationship from the public, you know, considering the law against squadron member relationships." Piper began explaining.

"What? They're illegal?" Aerrow's face had completely dropped. Piper nodded in reply and confirmed Aerrow's worst thought. Seems he would have to work a bit harder to achieve his dream now.

"Ok, I think that is everything." Piper smiled up at him. "Hopefully I can work up the courage to tell him we broke up over the radio and hope he doesn't come back to talk to you. I was so worried about that."

"Hang on." Aerrow thought. He wanted to make sure this plan was fully detailed and ready to bring out before they left the room. "How did we get together?"

Piper blushed and tried to focus on a scribbled picture hanging in the room, and then the boxes and boxes of medical supplies. Anything that would keep her from getting lost in those eyes and hearing the answer to the question she so desperately wanted to know.

"Don't know," was her prolonged whisper.

"Ok, so, how about I just decided to ask you out one day." The redhead began his train of though.

"And we had dinner, candlelit and under the full moon on Atmosia. And then I...I took you to Terra Neon, we hung out there I guess. I won you a toy from one of those shooting games and then I brought you back to the _Condor _and asked you to be my girlfriend." Realising how much of an idiot he probably sounded, Aerrow straightened up and rubbed the back of his neck again, lifting up his nose and sniffing in the hope that he would smell something. Something rotten? Something burning? Anything that would get him out of this mess.

Piper shyly smiled up at him. Boy, he really had this figured out, didn't he? The mage nodded in agreement to her leader. "Great, sounds perfect."

"Ok. I think we have that all cleared up." Aerrow mockingly shrugged as Piper giggled. "I worked up the courage to ask you out, and we...went on this big romantic date. Talk about hiding it from the public, huh?"

Piper sighed a sigh of relief. "This is my mess. But again, thank you so much for supporting me through this. I'm starting to think of what would happen if I had said Finn was my boyfriend. He would probably blackmail me into allowing him to play his 'music' all day." The tactics officer huffed in annoyance as she crossed her arms. Never had she looked more adorable to Aerrow.

"No problem. It's what friends do." He smiled down at his friend, but his smile quickly faded. "Is your dad going to murder me if I hold your hand again?" Aerrow asked wearily.

"You seem pretty scared of him." Piper raised an eyebrow and the leader. "I mean...I know he has been working out lately but you're Aerrow. Fearless leader of the Storm Hawks and you are scared of that guy?" she jerked her thumb out to her left.

"I am going to say this in the manliest way possible. That guy scares the panties off of me." Aerrow whispered, worried that Jet could be eavesdropping at the door. Piper laughed hard at his comment.

"Well, he shouldn't lay a finger on you. Not while I am around." Piper pointed to herself. The Sky Knight looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I am pretty sure you were there in the hanger bay when he slapped my back in an attempt to see if I could vomit up my heart."

"Yeah but this time it will be different." Piper grinned. She was always the one to look on the brighter side of their situation. Granted the only other person besides Finn who would voice his opinion was Stork, and it was easy to sound positive over Stork's voice.

"How?" Aerrow looked at her questioningly.

"It just will." She playfully slapped her hands on his arm in a bid to tell him that it was time they got going.

"I don't think dad is comfortable with the fact that I'm locked in a room with a boy." Piper exclaimed, hoping to trigger Aerrow's fear of the man.

"Good to know my girlfriend's dad is comfortable with us." Aerrow sneered. Piper looked away and allowed a smile to spread on her lips, just loving the way that word sounded coming from him, and Aerrow just liked using the word...for practice, you know.

"Well, let's put this plan into action." He nervously stepped toward the door and it swished open, but he stood still and turned back to Piper, moving his arm in front of him.

"After you," the Sky Knight bowed slightly and Piper just giggled.

"Yep." She spoke as she walked out of the room. "You are definitely a better choice than Finn." Aerrow simply smiled as he followed her to the helm, taking that last comment she made as a compliment.

**Well, I don't know about you guys, but I loved writing this one. Lots of AXP in this one so hope you all like cheese. Thank you to natlovesyou for saying that this writing 'oozes with talent'. I hope I lived up to it again in this chapter. **

**Used the 'panties' joke from 'How I Met Your Mother'. It was too good to pass!**

**It is 4:15 am AEST as I am writing this, not when it will be published, and I am going to get some shut eye before I wake up, glad to still be on holidays for another two days. Still not tired but I better anyway. Tell me what you think. R&R. **


	3. Chapter 3

**You have all been so patient and for that I am so thankful. I have had many requests to continue this story and of course I do plan to. I never leave any story unfinished. Thank you so much to my darling friend Nemo for leaving her review. You're the greatest friend any could've asked for! This chapter is for you (considering you have not stopped asking me at school to write an update). Thank you also to all the reviews as well as MiGoreng for writing 'update' 39 times. Must've taken a while to type and I hope you took a breath during it. I am enjoying writing this story and I have no plans on stopping now so, enjoy. **_**Italics are thoughts.**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story.**

Finn's thoughts

"_Everyone_ _around here sees me as the stereotypical dumb blonde, but I am actually smarterer..._

_more smarter..._

_smar..._

_I am more smarterer than people are lead to believe. Everyone on this ship has their strong suits. Junko, it's muscle and mechanics. For Stork, it's being creepy. Piper, it's being Miss Know-it-all. For Aerrow, the nice guy and Radarr, licking himself. But for me, my talent is lying. I have been a prankster my whole life. Dumping stuff down the back of people's shirts, gag gifts, just the classics. And if there's one thing you learn about being a prankster it's how to lie and how to identify when someone is lying._

_This brings me to my train of thought. Aerrow and Piper had never once mentioned that they were going out. I can understand why Piper would never tell me but Aerrow and I are buddies, at least I thought. The minute Piper's dad shows up, those guys tell everyone their big secret. _

_To me, that smells fishy...or is it chicken? Wait, chicken? Piper must've started cooking already. And chicken? She only cooks that extremely when she wants to butter someone up, so she must be doing it for her dad. There's something suspicious going on around here and I'm going to find out what."_

Normal POV

Finn walked into the helm and sat directly opposite of Piper's father. No force in Atmos would have made him sit next to Jet. The death glare Piper's dad gave Finn was unbearable, or was that just his normal face?

Finn tried hard to avoid the gaze of the man, casting his blue eyes down to the mattered upholstery of the dining couch. This would've held out until the food arrived had Junko not chimed in.

"What was Piper like as a kid?"

Curiosity filled the wallop's voice and Finn shot his head up. Upon hearing the throaty chuckle and the clearing of the throat from the girl's dad as he prepared his story, Finn could only grin at his fortune. _Oh this is going to be good._

Aerrow and Piper had just left the first aid room and, hand in hand, walked towards the door of the helm. They ceased abruptly as Piper became frozen on the spot.

"I...I don't think I can do this." Piper wearily spoke to Aerrow as they approached the door.

"You did fine without a plan. Don't you feel more organised and ready now? You're going to do fine." Aerrow comforted her by squeezing her hand. She could only stare into his green eyes that were full of reassurance, and she rapidly jerked her head up and down while releasing a small breath. Aerrow could tell that she felt as nervous as anything. The shaking hand was a dead giveaway.

"Ok, you know what. Why don't you cook something?" Aerrow calmly suggested. "You always said that calms you down and you can impress your father at the same time." The gentle smile from Piper warmed Aerrow's heart as she accepted his idea.

"That sounds good." She felt better already.

"You want a hand?" Aerrow offered. He was always eager to help one of his team mates.

"Sure that would be great." Both Storm Hawks advanced to the kitchen in preparation for the extravagant lunch. Piper had a roast chicken dinner planned for the following night, but this special occasion called for the special meal.

The kitchen was alive with the sound of spoons hitting the sides of pots and the oven door opening and closing.

"Can you check the chicken please?" Piper politely asked Aerrow as she stirred the gravy.

"Sure." Aerrow replied as he slipped on an oven mitt. Glaring into the hot oven, the chicken sizzled and crackled with juice and flavour. Aerrow licked his lips in hunger.

"Looks great." Aerrow commented as he shut the door to allow the chicken to continue cooking. He stood up and turned around as he heard light footsteps approach him.

"Here try this. Be careful, it's hot." Piper held a spoon with one hand and the other hand was held underneath it to avoid any spills. The spoon held light coloured gravy, releasing a welcoming scent that tickled Aerrow's nose. He carefully pouted his lips as he blew on the spoon, and allowed Piper to tip the silverware forward and send the warm sauce down his throat. The crystal mage pulled the spoon back and Aerrow held a dazed look on his face that resulted in a smirk from the girl.

"That is really good" Aerrow licked his lips as the aftertaste caressed his mouth. Piper bit her bottom lip and her eyes sparkled mischievously at her fake boyfriend. His smile as he finished his taste testing spread to her mouth and both chefs stared at each other before their faces fell.

"Um...I better dish up the food. Could you get the chicken out?" Piper stammered and walked back to the stove top. Aerrow stared at the back of her head before bringing his hand up to the back of his neck.

"Yep sure." The leader retracted his hand when he felt something strange, and stared at the mitt covered hand as he remembered he was wearing it.

_Get the chicken. _

"Ready?" Aerrow questioned the specialist as both members held the dishes, cutlery and food awkwardly in their hands. Piper returned his gaze with a smile.

"Let's go." Piper exited the room, followed closely behind by the nervous redhead. The door between the hall and the helm opened swiftly, revealing Piper's father, Finn, Radarr, Junko and even Stork, who had put the ship on auto-pilot, all laughing hard.

"What's going on?" Piper questioned, struggling with the enormous load that she was holding.

"Oh your dad was just telling us about the time when you were 6, and you wore your underwear on the outside of your pyjamas, tied a towel around your neck as a cape and ran around your backyard saying you were a super hero." Finn's laughter after his explanation caught up with him and he fell out of his seat.

"He also told us the time when you were 8 and you snorted milk through your nose at a restaurant." Junko slammed his fists on the table while he yelled with laughter.

"Dad!" Piper complained again. His father wiped away a tear of laughter and ceased his chuckling.

"Come on, Piper. It's harmless fun. Are you still a seroius person?"

"Oh don't even start with it, sir." Finn chimed in as he resumed his position in his seat. "She's wound tighter than Junko tightens one of these screws on the ship."

"Finn." Aerrow's sharp voice brought everyone to a halt. "That's enough."

Piper could only smile. She was so happy her pretend boyfriend was sticking up for her the way a normal boyfriend would.

"Sorry. Anyway, we were rude to interrupt. Please continue with your wonderful stories Sir Jet." Finn shifted in his seat to get comfortable for the next humorous story.

"No." Piper barked. "It's time to eat. Everyone grab a plate and help yourselves." Piper laid down the potato, peas, carrots and gravy on the table while Aerrow placed the chicken and silverware in the centre.

"Looks good, P." Piper's father congratulated her, and the mage allowed a small smile to spread on her face, a smile Aerrow was thankful to see.

"So how long have you guys been going out?" Finn questioned the couple as people began eating. Aerrow was about to do a spit take, but managed to hold onto the water in his mouth and swallow it.

"Uh..." Piper began, but was interrupted by Finn putting his hand up.

"No. I want Aerrow to answer." Finn leaned forward towards Aerrow and stared, a small grin evident on his lips.

Aerrow cleared his throat, pretended to count, then smiled at Finn. "One year, three months and eight days." The leader confidently answered and looked around to each member as they stared with wide and confused eyes. Piper smiled up at him with bright shining eyes that were yelling "_thank you so much for remembering!"_

"Is that true sir?" Finn questioned Jet, who nodded contently.

"You've been keeping count, dude?" The sharpshooter turned up his nose in a _why-on-Atmos-would-you-do-that _fashion.

"That's what happens when you're in love," was Aerrow's unexpected reply, causing Piper to snap her head in their direction and listen, intrigued as to what he had to say.

"You count the very minutes until you can see that person again." His head turned towards his girlfriend and gave her a soft smile. Piper shyly smiled down at her plate and began pushing the peas around with her fork, the blush never leaving her face. Finn only shifted his mouth in a pout as he thought of his next question.

"I thought there was a rule against squadron relationships? Have you guys spoken to the council? How many dates have you been on? Sir Jet, tell us about Piper's previous boyfriends."

Piper sighed as Finn's last question distracted everyone from the previous questions. She slumped in her chair and using her fork, shoved a piece of chicken in her mouth.

"Well I don't think Piper has had any boyfriends." At least her dad had stopped embarrassing her for now.

"Actually now that you mention it. There was this one boy..."

_Oh no_

"He used to walk her home from school every afternoon in grade school. What was his name, sweetheart?" Jet looked over to his daughter who had straightened up and began focusing on the carrots, stabbing them a little harder than one should to get them on her fork.

"Doogy." Piper unhappily mumbled.

"Doogy?" Finn erupted into laughter as he put his head to the table. Aerrow scolded Finn's actions and gave Piper a concerned look that went unrecognised.

"That's it." Piper's father shook his finger at her as he began to remember the story. "He got that nickname from the older kids. He wore broken glasses and walked you home every night. I remember you broke this boy's heart when you said you weren't interested."

Piper said nothing, but stared down at her plate with her hands in her lap. Aerrow noticed her unhappy attitude and tried to change the subject, had Finn not spoken first.

"So what did-"

"Can I see you in the kitchen please?" Piper smiled at Finn and although it looked sincere, her eyes burned with an unrecognisable rage. Finn swallowed a large dry lump down his throat and his gaze fell on Piper's dad, who was waiting to see if the troublemaker would follow his daughter's instructions.

"Of course." Finn tried to say calmly, although the words to everyone else's ears resembled the squeak one would hear from a mouse.

Piper rose from her seat, as did Aerrow and Finn so she could get out. She pushed Finn in his back to motion him forward, unknown to everyone else and left the room down the corridor. Aerrow sat back down in his seat, but upon realising that Jet was staring at him too, he made up a quick excuse to leave.

"I better...make sure they don't hurt each other." The Sky Knight leapt from his seat and in a small jog, moved from the helm's dining table and down to his friends in the kitchen, where they had already begun their conversation.

"What are you doing?" Piper threw her hands up in exasperation to emphasis her rage.

"You guys are hiding something. You've never been boyfriend and girlfriend." Finn whined in a high voice.

"That's because we kept it secret. Like you said, there's a rule against squadron relationships." Piper spat at her teammate.

"I have never seen you guys go on a date, ever. Or talk to each other about relationship stuff and trust me, I would know. As a real winner with the women and the world's greatest prankster-" Piper rolled her eyes as Finn greatly exaggerated his qualities. "I know that people in relationships talk a lot to each other and I know when people are lying. This whole relationship is a fake." Finn, finished with his rant, dropped his arms at his sides and gazed at the blinking eyes of Aerrow and Piper.

"Well, you got us-" Aerrow began.

"Aerrow!"

"Relax Piper. So what do you want Finn. To play your music? You can play it in your room once Jet leaves. You want Piper's sand cakes? She can bake you a whole batch for yourself." Aerrow's reasoning appeared to be paying off as Finn tapped his index finger on his chin.

"No." The blonde stated bluntly. "I'll keep your secret, only because your father is one scary looking dude. But you guys owe me big. I may cash it in whenever, so expect surprises."

"How can we expect surprises?" Piper questioned the sharpshooter in a bored manner, who appeared to be baffled by his own words.

"Look, as long as you don't do anything stupid that will blow this secret, you can do what you want when he leaves." Aerrow assured Finn. The blonde gave a smug look and began walking out of the kitchen.

"I'll hold you to that," were the last words that escaped his lips before he left, resulting in Piper holding her head in her hands. Aerrow walked up to her, grabbed her wrists gently and pulled her hands away from her face. Upset, glazed orange eyes stared back into his with a worried expression.

"It's going to be ok." He whispered quietly to her as his hands tightened their grasp around her small wrists.

"We knew it. We said he was going to blackmail us and he did." Piper spoke in a shaky voice. "I can't see this going any good way."

"It will." The leader continued to whisper, their noses centimetres apart.

"How do you know?" The mage extended the gap between them and searched his eyes for an answer.

"It just will." The grin spread across his mouth and Piper giggled as she realised he repeated exactly what she said when they were about to reveal their plan. Piper settled down and nodded her head in response. Releasing the grip of one hand, Aerrow entwined his fingers in her hand and lead her back to the dining table.

Eagerly waiting at his seat, Finn eyed the door in anticipation for his new prank victims. Sure he said he was going surprise them soon, but he never said he wouldn't surprise them when Jet was here. The sharpshooter tried to keep his cool as the door opened to reveal the Sky Knight and his fake girlfriend. Standing up so they could slide in the booth, Finn settled in his seat like the rest of his teammates, picked up his fork and stabbed at his peas. He knew they weren't expecting the surprise so soon and he savoured his power over them as he readied himself for his new question.

"Have you guys kissed yet?"

Aerrow dropped his fork on his plate with a loud clatter. The carrot in Piper's mouth could be heard as it snapped in half between her teeth, as though she was picturing the carrot was Finn's head. Both teens slowly turned their heads and stared wide eyed at the blonde, who sat in his chair chewing peas like a cow with the most innocent stare a boy could muster up spread on his face.

"Just asking. You know you could kiss now. Piper's dad doesn't mind, do you sir?" The team glanced over at Jet, who was giving Finn a horrible look. He rolled his shoulders and his neck, and Finn could've sworn he saw sweat falling from Aerrow's brow.

"Piper can do as she wishes," Jet began. "She is a seventeen year old girl with a boyfriend. I am sure they...have kissed before." Jet seethed through his teeth. Fathers are very protective of their daughters.

"No, I don't think they have, sir." Finn pondered as he waved his cutlery in the air in a thoughtful manner.

"Finn-" Aerrow started, but was cut off by the blonde's early reply.

"Yes Aerrow. Oh hey, didn't you say to me that you had something to tell Jet." His last words appeared to drag out slowly from his mouth, and Piper gave Finn a glare that would've killed him on the spot. Aerrow's face shot immediately over to Jet, who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow, elbows propped up on the table and his fingers entwined with each other. The Sky Knight stammered before staring at Piper, and decided to take a chance.

"Just that your girl is really amazing." Aerrow draped his arm over Piper's shoulder and gave her a small peck on her cheek. The goofy smile and red blush were too strong for the girl to fight off, so she shyly smiled down at her plate. Of course, Finn was not going to let them off that easily.

"Come on dude. She's not your sister. Give her a real kiss." Aerrow rolled his head to stare at Finn. He thought his plan had saved him from the uncomfortable situation, but he thought wrong, and the leader was just about ready to smack the grin off of Finn's face.

"Need I remind you how many germs can be passed in the exchanging of saliva?" Stork interjected into the conversation. Finn gave him a deadpanned look.

"Stay out of this Stork." The blonde almost whispered as he leaned towards Aerrow. "Come on dude. Don't you guys love each other?" The irritation of the whole situation caused Aerrow to run a hand through his hair has he wondered what was his next move would be. He faced Piper, and before anyone knew what was happing, the fake couple began to lean in towards each other.

The closer they became, the faster their heart beats became, the more they could feel the other's breath on their lips, and their eyes appeared locked together in another world. As they leaned forward more, everyone on the table around them leaned forward too. Aerrow realised his face was leaning the same way as Piper's, so he tilted his head right and collided his lips with hers.

With a foreign experience, both participants had no idea of what to do. People tend to close their eyes during a romantic kiss, but Aerrow and Piper merely used their eyes to look at each other. Their heads tilted at such an angle, the teammate's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as their mouths continued to move together, watching each other carefully, unsure of whether or not the other was repulsed by the act and wanted to stop. They both gave each other apologetic stares as their tongues found each other. This kiss was awkward, whether you were watching it or partaking in it. Piper's eyes glanced quickly in her father's direction that went unnoticed by everyone except Aerrow, and she cupped the redhead's left cheek with her right hand, closing her eyes softly as she did so. The leader relaxed and absorbed himself in the experience of the kiss, his eyes closing in the same dazed expression as they did when he tasted the gravy. It probably helped that Piper had eaten some of that gravy before she kissed him.

Finn could only stare wide eyed at his friend's little show. He never realised they were so dedicated to this plan and were willing to do...well that. He had to admit, he was pretty impressed.

Junko looked on with bright, happy eyes as he watched his best friends, cooing with cuteness at the sight before him. Stork only retched at the display and Radarr squawked and placed his ears over his eyes, as though to say _I support you buddy, but this is gross._

The couple were separated by Jet clearing his throat. Aerrow and Piper broke apart slowly, their eyes still locked on to each other's and their breathing appeared to have increased. Both shifted back to a forward position on the chair, their faces noticeably red.

"Well Piper," her father began in a bid to change the subject. "I have also come here on business." Piper grabbed her glass of water and took a large gulp as she stared at her dad.

"My expedition to Terra Fauna is set to take place this week and I was hoping you would come. I've heard that new crystals are waiting there to be discovered and I need the best crystal specialist known to Atmos. Would you and your team care to join me?" Piper was speechless. She looked at her team for advice, and they all nodded their heads in agreement.

"I would love to." Piper accepted as she put her drink down, and the team continued to eat.

"Oh and between you and me," Jet leaned down to his daughter's ear and whispered. "You chose the right boyfriend out of this group. I'm glad you didn't fall for the one whose voice hasn't broken yet but instead the one with actual table manners."

Piper looked to her left, and just as Jet said, she saw Aerrow wiping his mouth carefully with a napkin and then resuming to cut his chicken with a knife and fork. Her gaze jumped to Finn who, holding a piece of chicken in both hands, ripped at the meat with his teeth. A large piece of skin stuck to his chin as it moved up and down in a chewing motion.

"Finn you got a little..." Piper tried to gesture to his chin with her finger, but Finn only lifted his head, let out a neanderthal grunt, rubbed his chin with the back of his hand which completely missed the piece of chicken skin and continued to eat his meal like an animal. Piper let out a disgusted groan. Yes, Aerrow was definitely the better choice. The mage decided to steal a quick glance at the leader, and once she did, she notice that he had stopped eating and was staring at her. The moment her orange eyes fell on his green ones, he quickly resumed eating his lunch, avoiding her gaze. Piper blushed and smiled with a small shake of her head as she remembered the actions that took place merely five minutes ago.

**Wow, first an awkward hand position, now an awkward kiss! Well I hope this chapter lived up to everyone's expectations. I believe it did with me so I hope you are all happy with it. Now Finn is in on the plan, but will the group be able to keep it a secret while on the expedition?**

**Please remember to vote on my poll for my 365 day challenge. It would mean so much to me if you could. You can vote up to five options. **

**Thank you for reading. R&R. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I thought this was really funny, but the night I published the third chapter, I had the same chicken meal I made the Storm Hawks eat, minus the potato. I was laughing so much. **_**Italics are thoughts.**_** I'm using the same technique as chapter 2, so enjoy.**

**Anyway...you have all been so patient and I believe I promised an update in July. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Storm Hawks, but this story belongs to me. **

"I'm going to wring his neck. I'm going to kill him." Piper angrily seethed through her teeth as she walked down the corridor, her hands held in front of her in a strangling position. "I'm going to grab him by the throat and just-" The mage shook her hands in a choking fashion as though she was picturing the blonde sharpshooter already in her tight grasp.

She was going to make him pay. No one embarrasses her like that in front of her father or her boyfriend. The mage stopped dead in her tracks.

"_Pretend boyfriend,_" Piper had to remind herself.

The crystal specialist was so mad at Finn. He promised that he would keep their secret, pretend that Aerrow and she had been dating and were actually in love to keep her protective father happy. But no, he had to use his power against them and make an awkward situation unbearable.

He was asked to keep quiet and promised many privileges if he played his part well. Unfortunately his meddling almost revealed their secret, but to Piper, it did have its own rewards.

The girl stared dreamy eyed into space, her teeth biting down on her lower lip as she did so. Piper rested her back on one of the walls of the corridor and slid down to the floor, not looking at anything in particular and still sporting a goofy, dazed look as she remembered what had happened during lunch.

It was her dream come true.

'_He kissed me'_.

Granted from the look they both shared, she wasn't sure if he was feeling the same way as she did during that magnificent moment.

_It wasn't awkward, was it?_

_Sure this wasn't how it was planned, but sometimes you just need to-_

_Oh screw it. You're a tactics officer and strategist. Planning is essential for a perfect plan and at no point should you ever 'wing it'. Once again, the perfect plan was ruined by the immature blonde. _

Oh how she was going to make him pay.

Her plotted revenge ceased abruptly by the whizzing and buzzing sounds coming from the hanger bay. Her curiosity got the better of her as she entered the inlet in silence.

Aerrow POV

Shortly after lunch I had made a bee line to the hanger bay. I had to keep myself busy by any means necessary and thankfully, I had a broken skimmer hoisted on a lift which was the perfect distraction.

Distraction from what, you ask?

Well, it's not that I don't want to remember it, but lunch...got a little awkward today. I know I promised Piper I would pretend to be her boyfriend while her dad was around, but this is getting difficult. I'm trying hard to be the perfect guy for her, standing up for her in front of Finn, remembering that date she gave me...but the kiss?

What was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to do something else? Did she want to kiss me?

Anyway, that's why I'm here fixing my skimmer. To try and forget what happened during lunch, to try and avoid any more of Finn's antics. To try and avoid Piper's intimidating stare. She gets that from her father.

The hanger bay is a mess, but not a big enough mess for Stork to wonder in and begin lecturing me. A few small puddles of oil have formed on the tarp and my feet work around them as I inspect the damage of my ride. Thankfully it wasn't completely totalled. Twisting the wrench here and there, my work was interrupted as I heard the door to the hanger bay open.

I should've expected it. Piper would always examine every detail of a last mission to determine what went wrong; examining the black box in the flight wreckage. Her concerned eyes bore into my skull and for a moment, I couldn't look away.

"We need to talk." She bluntly stated, sending a small chill down my spine at her lack of emotion.

"About what?" I tried to stay casual, wiping some of the grease from my cheek.

Her face became riddled with confusion, as though she thought I generally had no idea what was going on. "About...about what happened during lunch."

I could guarantee that I looked worried. "Yeah, ok." I mumbled in defeat while dropping the rag from my shoulder into a bucket of water on the ground. Piper dropped her head and twiddled her fingers, almost embarrassed to further talk about the situation.

"Sorry it wasn't planned," her gaze never left her hands, and I took this opportunity to overlook my skimmer with curiosity. "But could you tell me next time something like that is going to happen."

My head shot up at her last comment. "You think I planned that?" I questioned her incredulously.

"I meant telling Finn. You sort of just...told him without asking me first." I tried to busy myself with the repairs, but made the mistake of sneaking a glance of her. Her eyes always seemed to find mine through the framework of my skimmer. With an exasperated sigh, I lowered the winch just enough to rest my chin in my folded arms on the seat of the skimmer.

"If I hadn't of told Finn, he would've found a way to spill this secret during lunch and in front of your father. My leader's instinct told me to go with it."

"Your leader's instinct?" She raised an eyebrow as she strolled over to the hoisted skimmer and mimicked the position of myself. I closed my eyes and humoured her with a nod and a hum of agreement.

"Did your leader's instinct question my feelings on the matter?" My eyes snapped open, and immediately I recognised the annoyance and sadness hidden behind her gorgeous golden orbs.

"What are your feelings on the matter?" I relayed her question, knowing full well it was the only acceptable reply in this situation.

"I feel...that if you keep it up, my father will think things between us are getting serious." Again her lack of emotion in her words sent a chill down my spine, and my eyebrows knitted together in confusion at her sentence.

"But isn't that good?" My heart sank a little as she dropped her head down again and shook it ever so slightly.

"You don't understand. When dad's heart is set on something, he'll stop at nothing until it's fulfilled."

"What does that mean?"

"You're doing too good of a job." Her soft tone laced my ears and stirred the hair on the back of my neck. "Could you maybe just tone it down a little?"

I shrugged my shoulders from my awkward leaning position in front of her, only now registering the fact that one inch was the difference between our noses. _Just a little closer and those lips could be yours again_. "You told me to act as your boyfriend; I would think that I'm doing what you want."

"Well, yeah but-" Piper closed her eyelids and released a small sigh of exasperation, not daring to look me in the eyes. "You're playing your role a little too well."

_Too well?_

"I'm sorry but...what do you think a good boyfriend does?" Her mouth was left agape at my question, and I simply raised an eyebrow at her lack of response.

"Well-" her voice came out a little shaky, and I instantly noticed the glaze of threatening tears.

"Hey," I calmed, gently stroking her cheek with my hand. _It was so soft._ "Don't worry, we'll figure it out. We'll just try and act more casual."

My words appeared to comfort her as a small but noticeable smile pricked the corners of her mouth. I walked around my skimmer and towards Piper, draping my arm over her shoulders.

"C'mon, let's go see how far away we are from Terra Fauna." In an attempt to walk us towards the door, my movements were stopped short as Piper stood in her position like a statue. Curious, I glanced down to her and noticed her deadpanned expression. Her gaze travelled from me, down to my hand that sat comfortably on her shoulder, and back up to my emerald eyes. _Wow, she really is like her father_. Releasing a nervous chuckle, I retracted my hand and rubbed my nose with it in a clever act to conceal my blush of embarrassment.

"Casual." I corrected out loud and grasped her hand in mine. The smile she presented me after that melted my heart in an instant. My legs turned to jelly, my throat became dry and once again, I could feel myself leaning in.

But as luck would have it, things never go according to plan on the _Condor_. The moment I saw Piper's eyes begin to close; the door to the hanger bay swished open and in strolled none other than the obnoxious sharpshooter. I couldn't help myself but roll my eyes dramatically and slap my hand against my thigh in annoyance when I faced him.

Flashback

I entered the hanger bay in silence. My brow furrowed in sympathy at the state of the small room. Aerrow's skimmer had been lifted off the ground; liquids dripping from it and on to a mat. From where I was standing, Aerrow's face was hidden behind the frame of his skimmer, buried deep within his work. The only way I knew he was there was the casual clinking of his wrench, and obviously his legs poking out at the bottom.

"We need to talk." I casually stated once his head poked out from above the heavy vehicle.

"About what?" His expression remained unchanged as he wiped a small spot of grease from his face, spreading it around even further. I stifled a giggle, now was not the time to be laughing. His expression seemed very still. _Did he really not know what I was talking about?_

"About...about what happened during lunch." I told him in a way that sounded like I was asking him the question. The worried expression across his face made me instantly nervous.

"Yeah, ok." Good, he was cooperating, although I still felt as nervous as anything to bring it back up again. What was I even going to say? '_I'm sorry for kissing you'_. Of course not, I'm not sorry for that. Ok, maybe just apologise first.

"Sorry it wasn't planned," I continued to stare down at my hands in embarrassment. Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell he had resumed working on the skimmer. He was just as uncomfortable as I was. "But could you tell me next time something like that is going to happen."

I was startled slightly as his head popped over the top of his skimmer with a shocked look on his face. "You think I planned that?" His voice was almost raised. He was talking about the kiss, wasn't he. _No that's not what I meant._

""I meant telling Finn. You sort of just...told him without asking me first." He went back to working on his skimmer, but against a background of grey, red and blue, his vibrant green eyes were easy to find. He lowered the skimmer with another exasperated sigh, resting his crossed arms on the brown seat and placing his chin in his arms, his eyes never leaving mine.

"If I hadn't of told Finn, he would've found a way to spill this secret during lunch and in front of your father. My leader's instinct told me to go with it." He stated matter-of-factly. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Finn almost blew the secret during lunch anyway, telling him did not make a difference.

"Your leader's instinct?" I walked over to him and crossed my arms, placing them on the skimmer and resting my chin in my arms in the same fashion as the Sky Knight. He simply closed his eyes, nodded and hummed. A small part of me wanted to slap him, remove that stupid look from his face, but I was so caught up with myself that even moving seemed like a difficult feat. I could feel it coming, the anxiety and pain pushing itself closer to my throat.

"Did your leader's instinct question my feelings on the matter?" His eyes met mine almost immediately, and knowing him for so long, I could tell he was concerned.

"What are your feelings on the matter?" _Good answer_. If he had said 'no', that would've had a different ending. He needed to know. I had to tell him how I was feeling.

"I feel...that if you keep it up, my father will think things between us are getting serious." His face changed to a look of confusion. What was so hard to understand? I swear he could be a little ignorant sometimes.

"But isn't that good?" His voice was small, afraid, vulnerable. I had never heard a sound come out of his mouth. I could feel the sadness reaching the back of my throat, I couldn't talk. My only option was to drop my shaking head in a sad manner.

"You don't understand. When dad's heart is set on something, he'll stop at nothing until it's fulfilled."

"What does that mean?"

"You're doing too good of a job." I whimpered out in a quiet voice. "Could you maybe just tone it down a little?"

He shrugged his shoulders in a somewhat adorable manner and released a small sigh. His breath hit my nose and a cold shiver ran up my spine as I realised our proximity to each other.

"You told me to act as your boyfriend; I would think that I'm doing what you want." He sounded sad. God I hated making him sad.

"Well, yeah but-" I sighed in defeat as my tongue tripped over my thoughts. I brought my attention back to my hands. I couldn't stand seeing the hurt in his eyes. "You're playing your role a little too well."

As soon as the words escaped my lips, I wished I could've taken them back. But he had to know, it felt like this whole charade wasn't a charade anymore.

"I'm sorry but...what do you think a good boyfriend does?" His question left me stumbled. My mouth fell open in slight shock. At no point in that sentence did he mention the word 'fake'.

"Well-" I began, but the anxiety was reaching further and further up my throat. A stinging began behind my eyes. _Please don't cry again_.

"Hey," he cooed in a hushed tone, his hand stroking my right cheek. I immediately stopped shaking. I immediately stopped crying. I immediately felt better. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out. We'll just try and act more casual."

I was glad he was the leader. His calming words always did sound reassuring. I couldn't help but smile a little bit. He walked around his skimmer and draped his arm over my shoulders. I suddenly stiffened. _What happened to casual?_

"C'mon, let's go see how far away we are from Terra Fauna." In an attempt to walk us towards the door, he stopped suddenly and looked at me as I stood my ground. His eyes once again portrayed concern as they searched through my orange eyes. With a deadpanned expression, I looked towards him, down to his hand on my shoulder, and back to him in a 'casual' way of telling him that that was not casual. He released a nervous chuckle and although he thought he hid it, I could see the red blush adorning his features.

"Casual." I felt his warm hand grasp mine once again. I smiled brightly and was relieved to see all the concern and worry leave his face. What happened next though was not relieving. He started to lean in. Oh no, what is happening? I thought we just agreed casual. Why am I complaining? Just go for it!

But as luck would have it, things never go according to plan on the _Condor_. The moment I began to close my eyes; the door to the hanger bay swished open and in strolled none other than the obnoxious sharpshooter. I couldn't help myself release a small sigh of annoyance as I shifted my stance uncomfortably and brought my gaze to him.

Normal POV

"Fine. If you don't want me here, I'll go." Finn complained in a deep voice, but to those who had known him for a long time knew he was joking.

"What do you want, Finn." Aerrow questioned his wingman in a bored manner, his grip tightening on Piper's hand.

"Just thought I'd let you both know that we're almost at the Terra." Finn stood in front of the fake couple, bouncing on the balls of his feet with eagerness in his eyes.

"And..." Piper urged, realising that Finn had more to say.

"And...to remind you that you don't have to act like a couple when Sir Jet is not around." He stated matter-of-factly.

"And..." Aerrow urged, raising his eyebrow at Finn as the same eager stare returned to his features.

"And...Junko knows the whole plan is a fake."

"What?" The leader and the mage shouted to the blonde in astonishment.

"How?" Piper questioned, the anger slowly rising in her voice.

"Did you really think I was going to lose a game of truth or dare to Junko?" Finn crossed his arms in a serious manner, resulting in the Sky Knight and the crystal specialist to roll their eyes at their marksman's stupidity.

"Oh by the way, Aerrow," Finn's head poked through the door again before he left. "You got a little something on your cheek."

His sly smirk left the doorframe and back down the corridor, Aerrow's face flushing a bright red almost instantly. With a shaking handing, he grazed the side of his face and looked down at the two gloved fingers that now held a small smudge of black grease.

_Had that been there the whole time?_

**I love banter between these two. So sorry for the late update but considering I am in my final four months of schooling, I doubt any more of my stories will be updated until December (Please check profile for notifications). Little bit more dramatic but let's hope I can return the humour, especially now that the team is on the expedition. R&R, good reviews mean a good update!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Finally, another update to this story. I'm so glad people are enjoying it so far. **

**Chapter dedicated to natlovesyou, because her pestering is what keeps it going!**

**Disclaimer: I don't know whether or not I own the show, but if I do, I'd like to speak to whoever has been stealing my pay checks!**

* * *

><p>The helm was silent, the only noises came from the hum of the engine as the ship braced itself for landing. No one dared touch or talk to Piper, in fear of saying or doing something that would aggravate her further. She stood rigid with cold eyes staring out the front window of the condor.<p>

"I can't believe it," she muttered to herself, yet her soft voice travelled to the helmsman. "Less than a day he's here and already, half of the team knows."

"Knows what?" Stork whispered back, startling the mage.

"Oh, nothing."

"The fact that your relationship with Aerrow is a sham?" he said it so casually, that Piper's eyes widened slowly as the words slipped out of his mouth.

"What?" she shouted, but a quick glance to the crew's table reminded her to lower her voice. "Oh, great. Did Junko or Finn tell you?"

"Actually, I heard it from Radarr," the helmsman jabbed a thumb over his left shoulder, forcing Piper to follow his direction to the floor where the co-pilot was pointing at himself proudly.

"Radarr? Wh- who did you hear it from?" the small creature pretending to think, then scratched the back of his long ear, ran around in a small circle before stopping abruptly to point at his foot. Piper furrowed her brow as she watched the pointless charade, before throwing her head back in a sigh.

"Great, now everyone knows. It's only a matter of time now until dad does too."

"We're nearing Terra Fauna, but it'll be a while until I can find a suitable spot to park; away from falling trees, open bodies of water, any deadly colony of insects that might crawl in to the circuitry of the ship-"

He continued his rant, but it fell on deaf ears as Piper slumped away, letting her arms hang loosely at her sides as she exited the helm in pursuit of the hanger bay.

This act certainly did not go unnoticed by a red haired leader.

"Ah, ha. He can't keep his eyes off her for a minute," Jet boomed loudly, slapping his hand on to Aerrow's back once again. The Sky Knight flinched; he could've sworn he heard something crack inside.

"Yeah, but that's not new," Finn mumbled under his breath, though everyone heard his sny comment. His ice blue eyes landed on Aerrow, sending him a knowing and sly stare behind a smirking façade.

Aerrow sent back a menacing glare.

_Don't you dare breathe a word. _

"So, as I was saying," Jet began, the eagerness of his voice somehow bringing all the male members around the table leaning closer to hear. "It was me, and a Third Degree Burner racing at break speed through tunnels and crevices. I was just about to overtake him, when a large Megapede burst out of the side of the tunnel. Rubble clouded my vision, but I kept driving. It managed to grab the wing of my Skimmer, but I kicked it off. The bugger put up one heck of a fight, and certainly left my ride worse for wear. The end of the tunnel opened up to a large sand dune, and without flight I revved the engine as hard as I could. I sped past the Burner and claimed the prize. One of the best competitions in my life."

Finn's knuckles were pressed in to his cheek as he stared amiably at the older man. "Wow," he said with a whisper, before his eyes shot wide open in thought. "Can we check out your ride?"

"I suppose," Jet pondered, glancing down towards the closed door Piper had exited not long before. "I've only temporarily fixed my flight system so I better check that out before we land. Does everyone want to see it-?"

Jet looked around, but frowned upon spying Aerrow's empty chair.

* * *

><p>Piper glanced to the door as it opened, but her gaze fell down to the handlebars of her Heli-Scooter when she recognised the guest. "I thought you'd be talking with dad, like everyone else. He can be very charming when he wants to be."<p>

"I came to check on you," he spoke, strolling up to her side. "Plus…everyone is about to come in anyway so I thought I'd give you a heads up."

Her mouth moved in a pout, causing concern to cross the leader's face. "Do you ever wish you could just...fly away from it all?" she said in a dazed voice, hands loosely gripping the handlebars, twisting them lightly as though steering. "You know, nothing bothering you while you sail through the air?"

"Who are you talking to?" he asked rhetorically with a chuckle, the classic adorable smirk growing on his lips. He wrapped his fingers around the handlebars in the centre, pulling himself closer to her. The mage cranes her head upwards, spreading a gentle smile as she glanced down shyly.

"Look, it'll all breeze over soon," he began explaining, the proximity of his voice turning his fake-girlfriend's insides to velvet as he spoke. "Hopefully during this mission your dad won't stay for too long and everything can go back to the way it was before-"

The door to the hanger bay opened abruptly, revealing every single other member of their crew, including Jet and excluding their helmsman, standing eagerly in its place. Piper's father nudged the person standing next to him, subtly but not so quietly whispering, "Whoops, those two just can't seem to be apart."

Aerrow glanced back to the girl and, upon realising their proximity, released his grip on the Heli-scooter handles and stood tall, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck.

"This is your ride?" Junko asked, heading over to the Skimmer leaning on its kickstand. Jet strolled over to it with a thunderous laugh, letting his hand glide over the glossy orange surface of the gas tank. "It's an Air Skimmer III Ultra, right?"

"II Ultra, actually," he said proudly, admiring the boys' wide eyes all scanning the machine in front of them. Piper and Aerrow shared a quick glance, the leader pulling a quick smile before moving off to admire the ride himself.

"How fast can it reach?" Junko asked, enthused with the conversation.

"I had a buddy of mine adjust the old wiring from this model so it can reach one-twentieth the speed of sound," a chorus of exclamations followed his words. "This is the only II Ultra found this side of the Atmos, altered of course."

"How is the wing retraction on this thing?" queried the Sky Knight, arms crossed over his chest.

"Split-second reaction timing," Jet glanced to him, smiling broadly. "You can test it for yourself. Piper tells me you're incredible on a Skimmer."

"What size are the cup holders?" Finn questioned, his body twisted in with the frame of the bike as he leaned closer to the dash. "Extra medium?"

"Extra…large," the owner voiced slowly, followed by a chorus of whistles and exclamations. Piper shook her head from her seat. What was it with boys and cup holders?

"This is the best shape I've ever seen a II Ultra in," the Wallop mused, fiddling with the gears on the ride. Jet met his gaze with a smile.

"You seem to know your way around one of these," he began, unaware that his daughter behind him was tightening her grip on her handlebars. "You're the mechanic, right? I suppose you wouldn't want to fix the flight setting to a more permanent level once we land? It could use a little tweaking, if I say so myself."

A look of pure shock came to the strongman's face as he processed the offer. It was only until Finn jabbed him in the side that he shook his head, replacing his 'o' shaped mouth to a huge grin and nodding his head up and down rapidly.

"That'd be awesome, sir," he admired, bending down to get a closer look at the bike, if that were possible. "I've never worked on one of these before."

"Ha, I thought you'd might enjoy that. You know, I suppose I'm lucky I found you."

From behind, the crystal mage rolled her eyes violently, turning her head away as she scoffed internally to herself. Once again, this act went unnoticed by everyone…except one.

A voice crackled over the intercom system in the ship.

"I've finally found a suitable place to land," Stork's voice echoed overhead. "Just…be on the lookout when you leave."

Jet was the first to speak his mind. "Is, uh…would he be joining us on this mission?"

"He usually likes to stay in the ship," Piper explained, standing up from her ride gracefully just after the ship rocked with touchdown.

"And why would he?" Finn asked rhetorically, sprinting over to his Skimmer. "The guy is missing out on all the action."

With a quick kick of his foot, Finn's Skimmer hummed to life, encouraged by his revving of the accelerator. "What are we waiting for? Let's go exploring!"

"That's the spirit," Piper's father shouted over the roar. "We just need to make sure my crew have landed here safely and help them unload some of the crates."

The sharpshooter's engine cut off instantly, allowing Finn's complaining wail to sound through the hanger bay.

"It shouldn't take long," the father said through clenched teeth, his tone sending doubt in to himself. He grasped the handlebars of his bike, wheeling it towards the door in preparation for exiting as he whispered under his breath. "Hopefully…"

Everyone moved to their rides, and since the Skimmer belonging to the leader was now parked next to Piper's Heli-Scooter after its accident, Aerrow used it as the perfect excuse to talk to her again.

"So, what's with the look?" he asked, a smirk on his lips already. The girl stared back at him quizzically.

"Look with what?"

"Well, you rolled your eyes so loudly before, I-" he was cut off by Piper's startled expression. Clearly she had not meant anyone to see it. "It kind of looked like you had something to say."

"No, it's just," her voice lowered itself as her brain tried to structure her thoughts. Aerrow waited patiently, watching from the corner of his eye as everyone else began to move towards the open door.

"Just…my dad is very…opportunistic," she said in a weary tone, causing the leader to knit his eyebrows together. "He'll…see a quality in someone and then use it to his advantage. He tells me he just uses his resources, but, sometimes he can take it a bit far."

"I don't think you should worry about that happening," Aerrow piped in, both of them creating the end of the line as they wheeled out their bikes. "Besides, Junko's a mechanic, he lives for this stuff, and he's just doing it because he's a nice guy."

The girl beside him hummed in thought. "We'll see."

* * *

><p>The ramp lowered on to dewy grass, where the team's Skimmers were gently rolled out on to the open surface. Trees billowed in the wind as another craft came in to view against the crystal clear sky. Jet held one hand on his head, keeping his hat where it was while the other waved proudly to them.<p>

"Here they are. Right on time, too," he called over the noise, taking a few generous steps backwards to avoid being blown over. The strange craft, with its second set of wings and odd structure shape, landed strategically next to the _Condor_, immediately releasing its exit ramp once it touched ground. A few burly looking men stamped their boots in synchronisation as they moved in single file towards their leader.

"Ah, nice work men. You all remember my daughter, Piper?" he placed his hand on his child's shoulder; the girl waving modestly with a small smile. It was received in the same manner.

"Have you actually met any of these guys?" Aerrow leaned across and whispered in her ear. Piper leant back, her answer moving through clenched teeth.

"Only sparse, brief accounts," she continued to wave to the men. "I couldn't tell you their names even if I tried."

"This is her crew," Jet gestured his hand to the rest of the Storm Hawks. Aerrow saluted, before shaking hands with who he assumed was Jet's second in command. Finn winked in greeting, Junko waved happily, and Radarr chirp in response. Jet lightly tapped his forehead with his hand when he spied the red hair of the leader. "Well, not_ her_ crew; though that could change. She is dating the leader."

From beneath her father's grip, Piper let her head drop in embarrassment, the comments and sympathetic laughter from Jet and his crew hid the small chortle from the Sky Knight.

"Shall we get started?" the man walked past the group and towards his own ship. "We've got an entire Terra to explore, and probably not that long to explore it in."

"I wonder how many crates they have to unload," Junko pondered thoughtfully to his best friend. Finn rolled his eyes as they followed the group up the ramp.

"Hopefully it's not that many."

* * *

><p>"I stand corrected," blue eyes were stretched to their fullest as they scanned the new hanger bay in front of them. Fifty, no, more like one hundred huge wooden crates were stacked within the hold's of Jet's ship, making it nearly impossible to move around. The father's eyes glimmered at the sight.<p>

"Everyone, let's move these out," he ordered, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. The men from Jet's crew each moved up to a single box and with bent knees and their muscular arms gripping the side of the crates, the boxes were lifted off the ground with a spine-tingling grunt of force.

Junko watched intently as one crew member grabbed a box from close by. "Well, I suppose we should just do what they do."

The Wallop prepared himself, and with a small grunt, picked the box up in front of him. A smile came to his face as he moved it close to his shoulder. "Hey, this isn't so bad. Give it a try, Finn."

The blond sharp shooter stared down at the crate, eyebrows furrowed together in worry. 'This doesn't look like it's going to be easy,' he murmured to himself. The marksman spat on to each of his hands, before rubbing them together and smacking them on to each side of the box. His feet skidded on the metal floor as he groaned through clenched teeth…yet still the crate did not budge.

"Radarr," Finn called from behind the box, resting his chin on it and panting heavily. "Come and give me a hand."

The co-pilot purred in dejection, quickly taking the chance to scurry off when Finn returned to his difficult task.

Piper moved her gaze from Finn to the box in front of her, Aerrow standing on her left side. "I don't think we'll be able to move them ourselves," she voiced her opinion to him, still staring thoughtfully towards the object. The mage turned her head at the small clearing of the throat made by the Sky Knight, and when she met his sly smirk, the same one spread on her lips as she felt the outline of the crystals in her pocket brush against her fingers.

"Titan's might!" Piper cried loudly, aiming the energy of the crystals towards Aerrow. He closed his eyes in preparation for the attack, smiling as he felt the tingle accompanied by the binding. The leader gently pried his green eyes open, seeing himself encased in a soft green mist. In one quick move, he picked up the crate in front of them with ease, flashing a toothy grin towards Piper.

"This is easy," he said, turning on his side so he could see Piper as he addressed her. His eyes narrowed in thought as they strayed to another box, and as he shifted the crate in his hold, he placed it atop a second one before picking up the pair. The mage kept her crystal pointed at the Sky Knight.

"Shall we take these outside?" Aerrow asked casually, causing the girl to giggle lightly. The two walked past Finn with ease, the latter ceasing his skidding feet and collapsing on the crate as he watched them.

"Oh, come on. That's not fair!" he growled with a sly smirk.

* * *

><p>Outside, the echoes of groaning sounded all around as the men placed their crates on to the soft earth. Junko redistributed the weight in his hold, shifting the box once again as he tried to keep it steady. Aerrow walked past him with ease, two boxes stacked in front of him with Piper trailing behind.<p>

"Hey Junko, need a hand?" he asked with a smile. The Wallop did a double-take, before his eyes noticed the green tinge to the leader. He laughed loudly, everyone in the Storm Hawks crew sharing knowing looks while the members of Jet's crew had their jaws hanging open. How could a scrawny kid like that carry two crates?

"They've been doing that every chance they get," Fin mused, standing up to Jet's side and crossing his arms. The father placed his finger to his chin, furrowing his brow in an almost disbelieving manner. "Apparently not many people can do it."

"No," Jet responded in a faraway voice. He watched on as Aerrow placed the crates down with ease while Piper returned the energy to the crystal. "No, not a lot of people can."

* * *

><p><strong>Again, sorry for the delay, but I'm pretty happy with this chapter. It's exactly what I planned it out to be, and it's an average length for a chapter in this story. I promise you, other chapters for my other stories are on their way. R&amp;R! <strong>


End file.
